Two tales of the criminal justice system this week, with the Excessive Fines Clause and the Fourth Amendment both playing a part. First, in the Second Circuit, Ari Bargil tells us how an ingenious scheme of selling marijuana over an app hits a snag when the funds have to go through the bank. Which is subject to all kinds of federal laws. What about the law forbidding excessive fines? For that it gets a little complicated. Then it’s off to the Ninth Circuit where John Wrench details a traffic stop with an “inventory search.” Did the cops really make it just to ensure the defendant didn’t lose his stuff? Many of us our skeptical, but somehow the conviction stands.
Click here for transcript.
Recent Episodes
Short Circuit 438 | The Strike Zone for Ultra Vires
If you like stories of co-workers showing up at your door at night and threatening you and your family then we have the episode for […]
Listen NowShort Circuit 437 | Privately Racing the Nondelegation Doctrine
An old friend rejoins the show, the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act of 2020. It’s been trotting around the federal courts of appeals for a […]
Listen NowShort Circuit 436 | Retaliatory Justice
If you like the drama of local politics you’ll love this story, told by IJ’s Christian Lansinger, from the Sixth Circuit. A colorful and controversial […]
Listen NowShort Circuit 435 | 1776 and Judicial Review
Happy America’s 250th! To celebrate, we’re doing things the IJ Way, tying in the events of 1776 to something that emerged a few years later […]
Listen Now